


it doesn't count if i kiss and you tell

by soulas



Series: tumblr smols [4]
Category: Buzzfeed: Worth It (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, Undercover Cop/Gang AU, making out as distraction trope, standrew vs colim? what about standrew AND colim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 19:24:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16143896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soulas/pseuds/soulas
Summary: When Steven is assigned to infiltrate the most dangerous gang in the city and get close to second-in-command Andrew Ilnyckyj, he knew things were going to get complicated.He had no idea.





	it doesn't count if i kiss and you tell

**Author's Note:**

> wait holy shit is this the first steven/ben fic on ao3  
> really sticking to my rarepair brand here i see

It’s been a long six months for Steven. Here is roughly what’s managed to happen in the short span of time since he let himself be persuaded by Adam to go undercover with the top triad gang.

To the public’s knowledge, he is fired from his job as a cop for taking bribes. He takes up residence at a local massage parlor that is well-known in certain circles to provide services other than professed. In actuality, he is one of five undercover cops whose goal is to infiltrate the HY gang and take it down from the inside. None of them know the other UC’s identities for their individual safety, and to keep the whole operation from being compromised if one of them is exposed. 

Steven’s always been a bit of a straitlaced guy (see: valedictorian of his class, has technically never been drunk, has never knowingly broken a law, including misdemeanor ones) so at first, he’s completely overwhelmed. Alcohol, drugs, illegal gambling, loan sharks, prostitution, blackmail, constant violence—it’s all a bit of a shock.   


Adam was convinced that Steven was integral to this enterprise, despite Steven’s vehement objections. “People trust you,” he says simply when Steven asks him for the hundredth time why he chose him. “And you’re good at covering your tracks.”  


But it took a terrifyingly brief length of time for him to get used to it. Bags of cocaine stuffed inside his trunk? Okay. Fresh blood on the envelope of money he picks up? Sure. Recruited to be part of an effort to terrorize another gang into submission by bashing two young members heads’ in? All part of the job. 

He checks in with Adam once a month, they communicate strictly in heavily coded language, and most of the time the meetings don’t last any longer that five minutes. He still doesn’t know who the rest of the UCs are. 

He meets a lot of people in the underground business world, but the cream of the crop, the one person he was told specifically to target is right-hand man, Andrew Ilnyckyj.   


Andrew has been in the gang for years. He was hand-raised by the leader of the gang to take over. He’s rumored to have torn a man’s throat out for talking back. 

In actuality, Steven thinks, Andrew is not half as violent or temperamental as other members. Maybe because his position in the gang is secure. Maybe because he’s hiding something (there are also rumors of a family he’s tucked away overseas, complete with a son and a daughter).

Whatever his deal is, Andrew is very hard to get close to, Steven learns.  


Steven is good at this though, being enthusiastically friendly to people without seeming threatening, which is probably how he ends up with a reputation for earning a soft spot in Andrew’s book.  


Steven doesn’t really know how it happened.

One night, when Andrew’s face is flushed from alcohol and he’s asked Steven to come by their hideout to go over some accounts, out of nowhere, in a hoarse voice he says, “Hey, Steven.”

Steven looks up from the pile of paperwork in front of him. Andrew is really, really close to his face. Like, he can definitely smell that strong, almost gasoline smell of bootleg alcohol. “Yeah?”

Andrew shifts and then he leans in and kisses Steven. Steven lets out a small sound of surprise and almost falls over backwards. The taste of alcohol is overwhelming and he resists the urge to gag. 

Andrew breaks away and just stares into Steven’s eyes, as if daring him to say something, which he doesn’t because he’s not stupid. Then Andrew turns away. “You can go now,” he says.  


Steven is still mulling the implications of that night when he meets up with Adam.  


Adam is silent for a while when Steven tells him what happened. Then he says, “That’s good then. He trusts you?”

Steven shrugs, a little helplessly. “I don’t know? It’s a dangerous game to play, especially within gangs. They don’t exactly…like this kind of thing.”

Adam nods. “Do you think the risk outweighs the benefits?”

“I really don’t know,” Steven says quietly. “I don’t know what he wants.”

Adam lays a calming hand on Steven’s arm. “I trust your judgement,” he says. 

“You really shouldn’t,” Steven says, a little sulkily. “I _told_  you I wasn’t cut out for this.”  


Adam just pats his arm again.   


A couple of days later, Adam writes to him and tells him to meet up three weeks early.  


Steven can’t sleep the night before, turning different horrific scenarios over and over in his mind that could possible be why Adam needs to speak to him so urgently. When he approaches their meeting place, he sees two shadowy figures, and when he finally arrives, he recognizes both of them. One is Adam. The other is Ben Coleman, another gang member that joined a little before Steven did. 

“Oh my god,” Steven says.

“Hey, man,” Ben says cheerfully.

“Ben’s another UC,” Adam says. “Now you have a partner. Watch each other’s backs, keep each other alert of anyone who might be catching on.”  


-

Andrew kisses Steven again. And again. And again. And then it turns into a strange pattern. Steven doesn’t know what to make of it, can’t figure out what edge Andrew is trying to get over him, what his motive is. 

They don’t talk about it around other people, in fact, they barely interact with each other apart from business. But around once a week, Steven’s phone will light up at 1 am and he’ll know who it is before he even reads the text.  


Andrew slips out of the bed one night and quietly leaves the room. Steven peeks at the clock. It’s 3 am. He counts to thirty in his head and then slowly gets up to follow him. 

He follows Andrew all the way out of the compound they’re in, into the forest that lines their warehouses. Andrew doesn’t seem to notice, and the darkness of the trees’ shadows do a pretty good job of hiding Steven.

He’s squinting though the night to try and get a glimpse of what Andrew is doing when something grabs his arm. Steven is very proud that he doesn’t immediately scream. His heart does stutter for a few seconds.

 He turns and Ben is crouching behind him, a black beanie covering his head. He winks at Steven.

“What are you doing?” Steven hisses. “This is  _my_  lead.”

Ben puts a finger to his lips and pulls Steven into the shadows. “I think Andrew’s trying to skim the shares off that last cocaine sale,” he whispers. “He’s been acting weird.”

Steven opens his mouth to speak, but something shifts in the air and they both freeze. In the silence, they can hear the faint sound of footsteps crunching. The sound is getting definitely getting closer.

Steven pinches Ben hard and gives him a furious look that says, _This is your fault._

Ben shrugs apologetically. There’s a wry smile on his face. “Well, there’s nothing else to do. Sorry, man,” he mutters under his breath before pushing Steven up against the tree.

“What.”

“Shhh,” Ben says and slides a hand to cup the back of Steven’s neck before kissing him deeply. _Oh god,_ Steven thinks _, Ben doesn’t know this is the worst thing to do to distract Andrew of all people._  But footsteps are getting even closer and he can’t think of a better option, so he quickly tangles his hands in Ben’s hair and kisses back in what he hopes comes off as fervor and not terror. Ben slips under Steven’s t-shirt, skimming the taut skin on his stomach with his fingertips, and Steven runs his hands down between Ben’s shoulder blades. He’s getting a little dizzy at how fast this whole thing escalated and his heart is beating like crazy becau—

“What the fuck is going on.” Andrew’s cold voice cuts through Steven’s mini freak out. 

Ben jumps and turns around, giving a good impression of being startled. Andrew’s face tightens when he makes eye contact with Steven, leaning back against the tree and trying to catch his breath while his heart is pounding in his chest.   


_He could kill us both right here_ , Steven comprehends faintly. _This could be it._  


Ben gives Andrew a roguish grin and says _,_ “Sorry, boss. You know how Steven is, he’s insatiable. Even on patrol.”

Steven kicks him. It’s such a flimsy excuse, why the fuck would they be patrolling in the middle of the night.

Andrew passes a hand through his hair and suddenly his expression is unreadable. “Get back to work,” he says sharply before turning on a heel and walking away.

They warily watch him disappear around the bend. Ben lets out a low whistle. “That was way too close.”

Steven closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “You  _idiot_ ,” he says, trying to sound upset while coming down from possibly the biggest adrenaline high he’s ever had in his life. “If you messed up my rapport with Andrew, I’m going to  _kill_  you.”

Ben laughs and claps Steven on the shoulder. “Nah, you’re too nice.”

Steven opens his eyes and glares at him. “Adam is going to hear about this and he’s going to be pissed.”

“Oh, come on!” Ben protests. He waits a while before saying, “Hey, you’re not such a bad kisser after all, Lim.”

Steven starts kicking him in the shin again. “Shut up, Ben, shut up. Oh my god, we could have  _died_.” 

“Ow,  _ow_ , okay, I’m sorry!”

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](https://keyolove.tumblr.com/)


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